Xbox One is designed to be always-on for 10 years

Inside sources at Microsoft have spoken to Digital Foundry about why the Xbox One hardware is so large, and what the tangible benefits of the larger footprint are for the user.

Our information suggests the Xbox One design is based on an ambitious brief, essentially impossible to test in anything resembling real-life conditions, and so the company played it safe, putting unit reliability first. A highly placed source says that the console has been designed with a ten-year lifecycle in mind and that it is designed to be switched on for that entire period.

What's more, during that time it needs to operate almost silently in order to earn its place in the living room. It's a unique hardware challenge, and so the company opted for a large design where heat dissipation comes first. Microsoft's engineers are also aware that the company's reputation for quality hardware is still in the balance after the Red Ring of Death Xbox 360 build quality fiasco, which cost the company over a bill...

Some people just live to disagree, but I wonder how long was the PS3 design to stay on for, 10 yrs? I should try it. Uh wait, it will brick and shut off if I don't update in that time..... Mmmmm, well, now we will never know. I'm gonna go and turn on my ps3 and leave it for 10 yrs in that corner where it's been for the last 7.

The PS3 and 360 waste enough power just being in standby. Now kinect is always on..... It might be miniscule amounts of kilowatts used but Dammit... The fucking kinect has to be always on. Next thing you know the controller will have to use nickel cadmium batteries only.

How many more "inside source" articles does Digital Foundry have? And how many more times are we going to believe them? It seems like all the negative Sony "inside sources" as well as all the positive Microsoft "inside sources" both flock to Digital Foundry, and neither end up being true.

Keep in mind, folks, that Digital Foundry was the site that claimed that a 4 Gig PS4 (before news hit that PS4 had 8 Gigs of RAM) was more powerful than an 8 Gig Xbox One.

"Some people just live to disagree, but I wonder how long was the PS3 design to stay on for, 10 yrs? I should try it. Uh wait, it will brick and shut off if I don't update in that time..... Mmmmm, well, now we will never know. I'm gonna go and turn on my ps3 and leave it for 10 yrs in that corner where it's been for the last 7."

I don't think it would be very wise to start comparing failure rates of the PS3 and the 360 there now would it buddy? ha.. I think you would be most displeased with the results.

RITSUJUN <--- Is still calling it XBOX 180? How old are you? That is sooooooo old. You're calling it 180 because they changed their policies before a system launch, bow many companies have done the same thing? Let's see, Sony did the same thing in 2006 with the PS3, but they did it AFTER launch you hipster. How quickly people forget. That $600 price tag was dropped to $450 after two price reductions and SKU eliminations because the system wasn't selling. Another company that CHANGED IT'S INITIAL PLAN AFTER PUBLIC OUTCRY. Grow up

To go with the new camera and the standby mode as well as wake on motion system, you can opt to install the heavy breathing app. It will make the console sound like a asthmatic stalker whenever you walk by it when it is in standby mode...enjoy... XD

It's silly because 'standby' is being taken out of context here. When they say standby they mean the system is still on, communicating to Xbox Live and downloading updates etc. it's a special low power mode that their hardware can do. PS4 doesn't have this ability, but they are taking a different route with the more powerful hardware, while MS has less powerful hardware but extra features with lower power modes.

@Icicle - PS4 has this ability as well, because you can buy games on your phone, and they will be downloaded on your PS4 when you get home. So it does have a low power state, which means it can download updates whenever as long as it is connected to the internet.

PS3 has two different standby modes. One is just standard "waiting for controller connection" which is completely silent. The second is the remote play/scheduled update mode, which runs the PSU in a low power state, but you can hear a slight hum if you go near the PS3.

PS4 and Xbone both have additional low power chips on board, unlike PS3/360, so might be able to do a similar thing more silently.

Yet the standby mode in the PS3 is pointless, you can't download anything in this mode so what's the point? It gives you an vain option to shut off after it downloads fully on..I could do the same and say the 360 downloads anything while on standby, but instead of staying on low power mode it just cuts off..

It makes you wonder ? No it doesnt , Sony always makes good hardware and they already stated you can stop a game then resume exactly where you left off and plus already auto updates so yeah , nothing to see here

@ weaseL my lawn mower does as well as my muffler less motorcycle. OT I hope this is true and not just PR babble @ death I wonder how old are you because my father tv is always watching him sleep and he's 69

The first X1 which will reach the 10 years will send a signal to the cloud. The cloud will distribute this signal to every X1 and in return they will release all the energy accumulated until this time to create a big EMP which will be illuminated in bright red! This will be a true RRoD for modern society! And out of the ashes an allmighty MS representative will arise to announce the next Xbox! Anyone who won't buy this shall live in agony, because MS Azure cloud has infiltrated every connected device. And every device will be without function unless it is connected to a Xbox through the cloud. Start believing!!!

Of course it's size is to stop overheating I didn't need M$ to tell me that, the big ass fan and external power supply are all geared towards solving heat issues, but there is no way on earth they have come up with an elegant solution,

in fact they show how poor their hardware design is by using the most obvious solutions to the problem, I wont be getting an xbox so it makes no difference to me, I am no engineer but if you asked me for solutions to keeping heat down I would make it big with a big fan and external power supply so there is no denying as a design it is as basic as it comes

YodaCracker

Right. Who buys a console because of its physical appearance?

I work at a primary school the kids were always talking about their xboxes when I asked them what they thought of the new one they said they wern't buying it because it looked $hit lol